Hunter and Hunted
by FarewellfromFaith
Summary: There's always bigger fish in the sea. The ghouls of Tokyo were about to learn this the hard way. But even the hunters of the ghouls will eventually become the hunted. Rating my be subject to change.
1. End of the Dream

_**...Chapter One: End of the Dream...**_

It should have been a day like any other. Emphasis on _should._ Instead, Kaneki Ken was in at work on his day off because Touka was again studying, and Anteiku was packed to the brim. The other waitstaff weren't as panicked as him, simply happy that all their customers were ghouls. That fact alone was messing with Kaneki's head, as several patrons were giving him odd looks, and he heard someone comment on his odd scent twice.

His hackles rose again as a group of three female ghouls, all wearing school uniforms, glanced over at him then giggled into their palms. Kaneki almost sighed in relief as Koma waved him over with his ever present smile. Irimi offered a small, sad looking smile as he approached the counter, his head tilted to the side in confusion. He opened his mouth to ask the obvious question, but Koma cut him off.

"Nishiki-kun is on his way in, so you can take the rest of the day off." There was the smile again. As grateful as Kaneki was, he couldn't help but question it.

"And why am I getting off now? Why didn't Nishiki come in earlier?" He was probably pouting, and he tried to reign his expression in.

"You're not the only one with super-sensitive hearing, Kaneki-kun," said Irimi, a soft smile on her face. "We know what's being said about you, and how you look after. Don't worry about it and go have some fun. It's a Friday night, and you've earned it."

He was about to say something again when Nishiki himself strode in, silencing Kaneki with a glare. Kaneki bowed politely to his elders, then walked past them to the locker room, where he changed as quickly as he could into his street clothes. Tugging his bag over his shoulder, he waved to the other waitstaff on his way out the door.

He didn't get far before he was nearly bowled over by his easily excitable best friend, Hide. "Ah!" He tripped over his own feet, saved by Hide's hand on his arm. "Hide! What's going on?"

"I got plans, man! You're twenty now, which means I can take you to a club!" Hide grinned with one hand on his hip, the other over his friend's shoulder, clearly thinking this was the best idea ever.

"...Really? A club?" The question of _Why?_ was crystal clear in his tone.

"Well~... I may have met a really hot girl at Blue Angelic the other day..." Hide scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, again leading his friend on the path to his house.

Kaneki sighed in defeat, "Fine, I'll go. I need to change, though, and my place is the other way."

Hide froze for a few seconds before laughing loudly, drawing the eyes of several passersby. "No way, man, you're not wearing your normal clothes there. Some of my stuff should fit you."

* * *

And that was how Kaneki Ken ended up in some upper class, highrise club, wearing a plaid pullover, a printed t-shirt, and torn jeans that felt a size too small. He had no idea how Hide fit into them. He huddled in the back of Hide's group (that he hadn't mentioned were joining them), trying to avoid being seen by anyone on the dance floor. Of course it didn't last for long, after a group of girls ran up to them in a fit of giggles, asking the others if they wanted to dance.

Being the horny twenty-somethings that the others were, they agreed in a heartbeat. The smallest of the group shyly asked Kaneki to join her, walking away pouting when he turned her down before pulling a different guy to the floor with a grin. Feeling a little more on-edge now that he was alone, Kaneki hugged the pullover closer to him and leaned against the wall of the corner he was hiding in.

And once again his peace was shattered when an arm pulled him into an ample bosom. He floundered for a moment as he breathed in red hair before the woman released him, and he stared in shock at Itori. Uta stood behind her, his eyes hidden by dark glasses and a familiar, carefully blank look on his face.

"Wh-what are you two doing here?" Kaneki asked, surprise written all over his face.

Itori laughed like that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard, then seeing Kaneki's confusion, switched to a more serious tone, sitting down close to their young friend. Uta followed suit, sitting on the other side and folding his arms much like Kaneki. Itori leaned close to them both so she could be heard over the pounding music, more for Kaneki's sake than Uta's.

"This used to be a pretty popular hunting ground, shared by most without any argument, but recently," here she leaned even closer and lowered her voice, "ghouls have been going missing."

Kaneki's brows pulled together, "You mean Doves?"

"If it was Doves, the place would have been shut down months ago. The club is owned by a ghoul." Uta also leaned closer, his expression shifting ever so slightly to one of concern. For who, Kaneki couldn't begin to guess. "From what I've heard, it's a combination of cannibalism and a hunter."

Kaneki flopped back against the wall in pure disbelief. "A human?" Uta nodded. "And not a Dove... How is this possible?"

"We don't know," Itori shrugged.

"But we intend to find out," Uta finished, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back, crossing his left ankle over his right knee.

It was then that Hide and his other friends decided to go back to their table, their faces distorted in the throbbing lights and their laughs silenced by the loud techno rolling out of the speakers. Seeing the two with Kaneki, the group froze, glancing nervously at each other. One of them said something to Hide, who nodded, and the others left, leaving Hide behind with the ghouls. Itori grinned, scooted over, and patted the bench seat next to her. Hide hesitated for a moment more, then settled into the offered seat.

"Sooo... Who're your friends?" Hide asked, a brow lifting.

"Oh, how rude of me!" Itori fake-gasped, holding out a hand which Hide took with a small smile, "I'm Itori."

"Uta." Said ghoul raised a hand, giving a small wave without changing expression. Hide nodded, not quite sure what to say.

They sat in their self-created awkward silence, before Kaneki remembered something. "Hide, did you have a reason for coming back?"

"Oh, yeah!" The normal grin was plastered back onto his face, and the sole human of their small group hugged his friend. "That girl I was talkin' about finally showed up!"

Kaneki almost rolled his eyes in exasperation, sighing at his friend's antics, "Did she? Well, where is the poor girl?" He meant it as a joke, but regretted it after Hide glared at him. The angry expression passed quickly, and Hide pulled his best friend closer, pointing at a balcony on the opposite end of the club where a woman with hair even longer than Itori's leaned against the railing.

"There she is! Ain't she a looker?" Hide laughed, grinning again as he waved to the woman with a cheeky grin. Even from this distance, Kaneki could swear she rolled her eyes, and she returned the wave, leaning over to say something to the tall, light haired man next to her, then disappeared into the crowd of dancers on the platform. He followed her with his uncovered eye as she descended a spiral staircase onto the main level, and the crowd parted as she walked over to their table.

As the lights turned white, he got a clear view of her. A curvy figure, covered by torn, black skinny jeans, a red bustier that ended at her sternum, a belly ring, and a tattoo that went from her right hip, all the way up her spine, and down her left arm. All topped with long red hair in an intricate style of braids and curls. As she got closer, he could tell that she was clearly a foreigner, and just as attractive as Hide had said, with high cheekbones, a thin nose with a ring in the left nostril, large green eyes surrounded by kohl, and full lips painted a deep red to match her hair. There were several piercings in each of her ears.

When she was ten feet away, her gaze flicked between Uta and Itori, and she tilted her head to the side before continuing to their table. Hide moved to make room for her next to him, but she sat next to Uta, eying him from her peripheral. He raised a nearly nonexistent brow, but said nothing as she crossed her ankles, the chrome of her heels glinting in the lights. In the packed club, Kaneki couldn't tell if she was human or ghoul.

"Nagachika Hideyoshi, correct?" she asked, voice smooth and lightly accented. A warm, lightly joking smile graced her lips.

"Hey, you remembered!" Hide looked ecstatic.

"Now, do you remember my name?" she asked, smile still in place as she leaned her arms on the table.

"Uh... Well- No, no I don't." Hide slid down in his seat, much to the amusement of the other four.

"That's fine," she hid her mouth behind a hand as she laughed, "I just have a really good memory."

Hide grimaced, but quickly regained his composure. "Weren't you saying something last week about going to Niita University?"

That spiked Kaneki's interest, "Our rival school?"

The girl rolled her eyes, saying, "I'll never know why we're rivals, our main subjects are completely different. Your school teaches the sciences, mine the arts. It makes no sense to me."

"I think it's because of the sports teams being fairly even," Kaneki replied.

"Be that as it may-" Whatever the girl was going to say was cut off as she met the eyes of the light haired man she had been talking to earlier. "I have to go." Hide was about to protest, and she glared at him. She slid off the bench and made her way through the crowd of dancers again. It was kind of amazing to see her blend into the crown when just minutes before she had stuck out like a lily in a rose bush.

Hide sat in stunned silence, his mouth open slightly from bewilderment. The minutes ticked by, until Uta grabbed Kaneki's arm, saying to Itori, "I'm going out for a smoke. Be back soon." The older male ghoul dragged Kaneki behind him as he went out a back exit. Once the heavy door had shut, locking the music behind it, Kaneki tugged his arm loose.

"If you wanted to smoke, why couldn't you go alone?"

"Because I wanted to follow that girl," said Uta simply, taking off and pocketing his glasses. His kakugan were visible as always, and for once he looked interested in something. He nodded to a staircase, walking over to it with Kaneki behind him. They climbed three flights before Uta pushed open the door to the roof, and Kaneki squinted in the sudden bright moonlight. The full moon seemed closer than normal, and Kaneki, without thinking, walked over to the edge of the building, staring down at the concrete twelve stories below.

Shrugging, he walked back to Uta, who leaned against the door frame. He was almost there when Uta was kicked onto the roof, and a hulking figure sneered from behind him.

"Where's the girl?" asked a deep, heavily accented voice, and the figure stepped out of the dark doorway. With kakugan visible, he forced Uta back further, and said ghoul glowered at the taller man.

"Look. I'm only going to warn you once. You don't know who you're dealing with, so back away and leave us alone if you know what's good for you." Uta's normally calm voice was a growl.

The taller ghoul bellowed with laughter, and four other ghouls stepped out of the stairway, kagune out and ready. The leader, who Kaneki figured was German by his accent, snickered again before saying, "And you don't know who _you're_ dealing with. Now tell us, where is the girl?"

"What girl?" Kaneki asked, again backing away to the edge of the roof, instincts kicking into high gear. Uta stood his ground, still glaring at the German ghoul.

"The girl you were talking to in the club. The hunter, Titiana." He said it like it would illicit a reaction from Uta, but his face remained blank.

"Never heard of her. Maybe if you told me the reason behind her name, I'd know who it was," Uta said, still calm. The German ghoul looked about ready to hit him, but froze as a thin silver chain wrapped around his throat from above. His hand went to it in wonder, and the chain tightened, taking his head in a spurt of blood. The decapitated body fell to the ground, and Uta and Kaneki stared up at the top of the tiny room that held the stairs, where the girl from the club sat, legs crossed and chain hanging from her hand.

"I'm a fuckin' queen, that's why," she smiled serenely, then hopped down from the stairway's roof. She glanced, uninterested, at the other ghouls, who had been glaring at her since she appeared. A kagune shot out at her, and she flipped over it, striking out at the owner with the chain, again decapitating him. Two others ran at her, and she kicked one of them in the eye, her thin heel going through the thin membrane.

The second one started to go around her to get her from behind, but again she jumped over him, slashing him across the back with the chain. Where the metal hit started to fizz, and the ghoul fell coughing and spluttering to the ground.

The last of the lackeys stood frozen in fear, and she glanced over at him with a cold glare. "I'll let you go. But only because I want you to carry a message," she walked closer to him, and he didn't back away. She grabbed the front of his shirt and threw him to the stairs, where he hurriedly picked himself up and raced down the stairs.

The girl finally looked at the other two ghouls on the roof, snorted, pulled out a smartphone, and dialed a number. When the other person picked up, she said something in a language that Kaneki didn't understand, then shoved the phone back into her pocket and walked past the two men. Kaneki followed her, pulling her to a stop before she reached the edge of the roof. She looked back with emotionless eyes, and he burst out, "What's your name?"

She pulled her arm back, turning and walking up to the lip of the roof, her heels clicking on the bricks as she stepped onto it. Kaneki, disappointed, turned back and started over to Uta, who was again leaning against the door frame.

"Zoya," a soft, lightly accented voice said from behind them, and they both looked back to see a faint smile on the girl's face, before she stepped off the edge of the roof. Kaneki started to run to the edge, but Uta caught his arm.

"Don't worry about her," he said, lightly pushing Kaneki to the stairs. "If she can take on four ghouls by herself, I'm sure she can handle the drop." He pulled out his glasses, placing them back on his nose. "Besides, she wasn't human like I thought."

Kaneki felt surprised, but remembered the distinct scent of wildflowers that came from Zoya. Something he thought he'd never smell again.

* * *

I grunted at the hard landing, the pain doubled by the pesky heels I wore. Shaking my head to clear it, I walked over to the waiting motorcycle, where Audric sat holding my jacket. I rolled my eyes an grabbed it from him.

"Making friends, are we?" he asked in Russian, his blond hair shining in the moonlight.

"Not intentionally," I answered, slipping on the jacket, and sitting behind him. Chuckling, he started up the bike as I placed my goggles over my eyes and clipped my hair up. I placed my hands on his hips, and he revved the engine before pulling off back home.

* * *

 **How does one fight scene? Thank you for reading, and please leave a review! This story isn't placed anywhere particular in the timeline, but it is an AU where Kaneki didn't leave Anteiku. Any questions you may have for me can be answered on my Tumblr.  
**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, nor do I claim to own Tokyo Ghoul or its characters, I own my OCs and the plot.  
**


	2. Read All About It

_**...Chapter Two: Read All About It...**_

Kaneki trailed behind Uta as the latter ran down the three flights of stairs to the club. The older ghoul stopped for only a moment as he pushed his glasses further onto his nose, then held open the door for the white-haired twenty year old. Kaneki felt like a wave of sound rolled over him as he stepped back into Blue Angelic, but Uta seemed completely unaffected, nodding in the direction of their table from earlier, where Itori still sat with Hide.

When she saw them, she yelled, "That was a long smoke break! Did ya get lost-"

"Itori, let's go," Uta cut in, glancing around almost nervously.

"B-but why?" she whined, pouting, and looked about ready to start an argument when she caught on to his tension.

Uta turned back from surveying the dance floor, "Let's just say I found what we were looking for. And it wasn't what we thought at all."

Hide's gaze flicked back and forth between the two friends, then he stood and grabbed Kaneki's arm. "We should probably be going too. Have a lovely night, Itori-san, Uta-san," he said with a warm smile, then began leading his friend to the doors. It wasn't until they were in the elevators and away from the throbbing music that Kaneki pulled his arm free once again.

"What is it with everybody grabbing me today?" Kaneki asked, slightly irritated.

"I dunno," Hide shrugged, pressing the button for the ground floor, crossing his arms and leaning against the railing that circled the mirrored space. For once, he looked content to not say anything and stared at the ceiling with an expression of concentration. Kaneki was about to ask what was on his mind when the elevator door dinged open, and Hide clapped him on the arm. "See ya tomorrow, buddy. Get home safe, yeah?"

"Sure," Kaneki sighed, waving slowly to his friend as Hide jogged across the street on his way home. Sighing again, he started walking in the opposite direction and pulled out his phone, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His steps faltered for a moment when he actually saw the time. It wasn't even midnight, and he was exhausted.

 _Well,_ he thought, _I guess it's time to sleep until I'm almost late for work._

* * *

The next day, work was the opposite as the day before, which was odd for a Saturday. The customers dwindled after about two in the afternoon, and business didn't pick up the rest of the day. Most of their regulars were nowhere to be seen, Hide included. Yoshimura had told him that morning that Uta and Itori would be there sometime in the evening, probably right before closing, to discuss the hunter they encountered at the club, and their plan of action.

Kaneki was broken out of his reverie by Koma flipping open a newspaper and tsking under his breath. " _Four_ ghouls, all on her own, huh?"

Kaneki hummed in assent, wiping a table clean without really thinking about it. "It was kind of scary, to be honest."

" _Freaky,_ more like," Nishiki broke in, cleaning the table next to Kaneki. "You said she used some kind of chain?" he asked, and Kaneki nodded.

"Probably some kind of quinque razor wire," Koma said, turning another page. Touka, listening in from the register, narrowed her eyes.

"What did you say her name was again?" asked Irimi, "It was rather pretty sounding."

"Hm?" Kaneki, who had been spacing out, glanced up at his elder with a slight jump. "Oh, she said it was Zoya."

Nishiki froze, his hand holding the rag balling into a fist. Everyone's gaze turned to him, a silent question hanging in the air. "Average height, likes to wear heels and fairly revealing clothes, Irish?" he asked, staring at Kaneki over the rims of his glasses. Kaneki, backing away an inch at a time, nodded. Nishiki threw the rag on the table, muttering, "I should have known. Be right back." He rolled his eyes and walked around the counter and into the back, leaving the other waitstaff in a stunned silence.

Before he could return, the doorbell jingled and in walked Itori and Uta. "Welcome!" Irimi called, a small smile brightening her normally stoic expression. "I'll go find the manager." She bowed and went through the same door Nishiki had as the other ghoul stepped back into the coffee shop, holding a laptop in his right hand. Itori and Uta shared an amused glance as Uta pocketed his glasses, and the two followed Nishiki to a table, where he sat and powered up the computer. The staff door opened once again, and Yoshimura, Irimi, and Hinami walked out.

"What are you doing?" Hinami asked as hopped onto the last stool next to Nishiki.

"Pulling up info on our 'hunter'." Nishiki answered, eyes glued to the screen as he patted her head. Koma rolled his eyes as he carried a tray with two fresh cups of coffee to the table, placing them in front of Uta and Itori. The redheaded woman smiled and Uta nodded in thanks, both sipping the still slightly too hot liquid. The former Devil Ape went back to standing behind the counter to finish cleaning up.

"Am I imagining the air quotes in that sentence?" Koma asked as the tray went back under the counter and he picked up another stacked with dirty cups, gently placing each in the warm, soapy water he had already run in the sink. Kaneki picked up both his and Nishiki's rags and went behind the counter, dropping them in a basket and getting a clean one, drying the cups and saucers Koma handed him.

"That aside, I'd like to thank you both for coming here tonight," Yoshimura said, the ever present smile directed at Uta and Itori. "When I spoke with Uta-san on the phone, you said you would rather speak in person when both of you, along with Kaneki-kun, were present."

"That's true," Uta said, setting his cup back in its saucer. "First, I'd like to say that, unlike what we originally thought, this Zoya is not human. I don't know what exactly she is, but she's not a ghoul either."

"How is this possible?" demanded Touka, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter.

Uta shrugged, his brows pulling together nearly imperceptibly. "I don't know. I was under the assumption that there were only two humanoid species on this planet. We all thought wrong, apparently," he glanced to Nishiki, saying, "So what did you find out about her?"

"A lot, yet nothing at all," he muttered, turning the laptop around so the others could see. The page he had opened to had a picture on the top of a redheaded woman suspended in the air by white aerial silks. Under it was a black and white photo, and in it was Zoya. Her right eye was covered, and her left was the only color in the whole picture, its green very close to jade. Under it was a profile similar to the ones companies release for idols.

"She's part of a preforming arts troupe, as the second in command. Her older brother is the leader. Kimi is pretty fond of them. The whole group has a profile like this, and they have all kinds of basic info and a short bio." He turned the computer back around and closed it, "Her whole name is Zoya Rowan, and she is in the top five of her class at Niita U. We've met a few times at festivals and such, and we really don't get along."

"Why?" Hinami asked, her head tilting to the side in curiosity. Kaneki, still drying cups even though Koma had finished washing, smiled at her unintentional cuteness.

Before Nishiki could answer, however, the bell jingled again, and time seemed to slow as three people walked into the shop. A redheaded woman, a tall blond man, and a man of average height with close cropped black hair. The woman of the group, walking in the middle, was smiling and laughing at something over her shoulder, and as she turned, her gaze met Kaneki's.

Zoya.

Her eyes left his, flicking to Nishiki, and her smile fell into a grimace. She turned and ran out of the shop, her heels clicking on the tile and the fabric of her slacks snapping in the breeze she created, only for a redheaded man to catch her, pick her up, and throw her over his shoulder. "Oh, no you don't!" he said, a smile on his handsome face. He was followed by another man, this one lanky with light brown hair. The tall redhead walked to the counter and plopped Zoya onto a stool. Her pout and crossed arms made Uta smile behind a hand.

This should be _very_ interesting.

* * *

I grumbled under my breath as my brother dropped me on the stool, glaring as he backed away with a wide smirk. " _Thank you_ , Damyan. It wasn't like I was trying to leave or anything."

"Oh, I would hope not!" he said sitting at the opposite end of the counter so I couldn't reach him. Straitening the bow on my blouse, I crossed my legs at the ankle and composed myself as best I could in the tense situation. The others sat down in between us, facing the ghouls.

"Shall we start with introductions?" I asked, glancing from face to face. "I assume you already know my name, but I am Zoya Rowan."

"And I'm Damyan Rowan, her older brother," the entire sentence was said with a bright, wide smile and a wave, and I noticed the young girl behind Nishiki smile back before hiding again.

The blond of our group also waved before bowing his head politely, "My name is Audric Durant." He was the only one with a noticeable accent when speaking Japanese. The rest of us had been trained to hide our natural accents from a young age, but he had only joined recently. He had a kind, open face that most would believe to be easy to read.

"Niilo Ranta," said man was the one with black hair, which I reached over and ruffled to annoy him. He swatted me away as the last of our group spoke up almost timidly.

"And I'm Lauri Jarvi." He hid behind his chin length brown hair as soon as he finished speaking, and the ghouls began their introductions. It passed quickly to me, but at least I could now put names to faces.

"Now," said Yoshimura, and his kind voice drew everyone's attention, "we have several questions for you, as I'm sure you have for us."

"Forgive me for interrupting, but we really only have one question for you." Audric's accent was slipping again, so I finished for him.

"Can we trust all of you around humans?" I folded my hands over my knees, glancing from face to face.

The room was silent for at least a minute, and the ghouls stared at us, some in amusement, some in annoyance. "Of course," Touka said, glaring at me with her one visible eye.

I held up my hands in defense. "We mean no offense, but our job requires us to ask."

"And what exactly _is_ that job?" asked Itori, her head in a palm and her elbow resting on a table.

"For lack of a better word, peacekeepers," replied Niilo. Uta's eyes narrowed at the term.

"Who do you all work for?" asked Kaneki, finally finishing the dishes and joining the rest of his coworkers in front of us.

"We work for an organization called Sanctuarium Angelorum. It roughly translates from Latin to 'Sanctuary of Angels'. It's called the SA for short most of the time." Damyan said, stretching his legs out in front of him.

Uta, who had been staring at me for sometime, finally asked the question I knew they all wanted an answer to. "What are you?"

I sighed, uncrossing my ankles, placing my hands on my knees, and standing. "Don't freak out, okay?" I earned quite a few weird looks, but also a few nods. I turned around, unbuttoning my blouse as I did so. Kaneki freaked out and banged his knees on a table, but I slipped the thin silk off my shoulders. I shivered as the AC went through my shell tank top, but focused on the burning sensation spreading from under my shoulder blades. The heat dispersed as two white wings pushed through my skin, and the leaf-like appendages almost touched the floor.

"Not all of us have wings like this, but we're known as the Fallen, because we're supposedly descended from the angels that fell from Heaven." I turned back around as the wings rolled back into my skin and tugged my blouse back on, sitting down and leaving it open because I didn't care enough to button it again. Not yet, anyway.

"You don't believe that?" Nishiki asked, his glare slightly lessened.

"Would you?" I shot back, and he shrugged, obviously not caring. "It's my personal belief that we're from the same basic mutation as the ghouls, our RC cells just manifest in different ways." I scratched the tattoo on my left arm as I thought.

"And what about the chain from last night?" Uta asked, still staring at me.

"Made from the same material as the Dove's cases," said Lauri, biting his lip as he glanced around nervously.

"Why do you hunt ghouls?" asked little Hinami, now in Touka's lap.

I smiled sadly, glancing at my shoes, "We didn't used to. We only hunt those who hunt us, does that make sense?" I looked back up to see her nod, and I continued, "A big group of them joined up with another organization of Fallen that want to hurt a lot of people, so it's our job to stop them."

"You talk like you know everything about us, yet we know almost nothing about you. How old are you anyway?" Nishiki spat, glaring again. I glared right back, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Please, if it's no trouble, how old are you all?" Kaneki asked, smiling timidly.

I laughed, a short, harsh sound, but smiled back. "I'm 27, and so is Audric. My brother is 30, Niilo is 26, and Lauri is the youngest at 24." I was about to say something more when my phone rang, and the incessant sound was slightly jarring as I pulled the offending object out of my pocket. My eyes widened when I saw the message on the screen. "I apologize, but duty calls." I tugged a card out of my other pocket, "Do you have a pen?" I asked no one in particular. I nearly rolled my eyes when Nishiki held one up. Taking it, I jotted down a number, then handed the card to Yoshimura. "This is my private number. Please call so we can set up another time to talk."

"Thank you, Miss Rowan. I hope to see you some time soon, as do the others, I'm sure." I nodded after he finished speaking, then rushed out of the cafe as I buttoned my shirt, the other Fallen close behind me. We piled into our car, and I set the destination on our GPS.

"Shibuya Station, directly West," I barked as Damyan pulled the car into gear. As we drove off, I stared back at the cafe, a thousand thoughts battling for the forefront of my mind.

* * *

 **Once again, thank you for reading! Please leave a review, tell me if you want to see more of someone or want someone introduced, or if someone is out of character. Any questions for me can be answered on Tumblr, the link's on my profile.  
**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, nor do I claim to own Tokyo Ghoul or its characters. I only own my OCs and the plot.**


	3. The Other Side

_**...Chapter Three: The Other Side...**_

Uta placed his head in his right palm, his elbow propped on the table and the fingers of his left hand drumming against the wooden top. A stiff silence had fallen over Anteiku after the hunters left, and he was getting bored quickly. Hinami had finally come out of hiding and flipped the sign on the door to closed, but that had been the only movement in the shop for at least ten minutes. Uta turned his head slightly to meet Itori's gaze, and the two silently agreed that it was time to go.

Standing, he said to Yoshimura, "Sorry for showing up so late, but we really must be going now."

"Of course," said the manager, his smile never leaving his face. "But before you go, please take this," he held out the card Zoya had written her number on, "I've already memorized it."

Uta took the offered card, flipping it over to read the neat script written on the back. Nodding, he said, "Thank you. See you all tomorrow, hopefully." Then, he and Itori exited the shop, the faint wind ruffling their hair. Uta placed his dark glasses back on his nose, pushing them up the bridge of his nose to completely hide his eyes. It was an unusually warm Spring night, but not unpleasantly so.

One side of his mouth quirked up as Itori poked his side, "Can I help you?"

"Gimme that card for a sec, I want to put her number into my phone." Itori demanded, a pout threatening to sour her beautiful face. Sighing and rolling his eyes, Uta handed her the paper, and Itori grinned as she pulled her phone out of her purse and took the card, tapping the number in before handing it back to her friend.

"Happy now?" Uta asked, side-eying the other ghoul with a half-amused, half-annoyed smile. She grinned again, nodding, and he laughed softly, "Then I'll see you tomorrow." He took the card back, sliding it into a pocket then turned down a side street that lead to the fourth ward. Itori kept going straight, on her way to the fourteenth.

Once she was out of sight, Uta tugged his hood up and started jogging. He had to jump a few fences, but the exercise didn't even wind him. He kept all his senses on high alert just in case a Dove or two were around, but tonight, like most nights, he got lucky.

Boring.

In less than half an hour, he was back in the comfort of his loft, situated right above the HySy ArtMask Studio. The furniture was sparse, mostly because he didn't spend much time here compared to the actual Studio, but what was there was well-loved and comfortable. Walking to the fridge, he took out a small jar, then kicked the door shut. He unscrewed the top and popped an eyeball into his mouth, greatly enjoying the liquidy gush as he bit down. Screwing the top back on, he crossed the short hall to his bedroom and placed the jar on his desk.

The glass surface was littered with several unfinished masks, but those were easily pushed aside to give his old laptop his full attention. Uta booted up the dinosaur of an electronic; the speed, or lack there of, didn't bother him in the slightest on a normal day, but today was not a normal day. He took off his glasses, throwing them across the room to the bed. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he tried to pull the scent of the Fallen back to the forefront of his mind.

They, like humans and ghouls, each had a distinct scent, but unlike either their scents reminded Uta of the outdoors, while humans smelled of food and ghouls smelled dark, primal. It was a bad description, but the only one his tired brain could think up. Zoya in particular smelled like a forest in autumn. Rich and mysterious. At least, that's what she smelled like to him.

And finally, the computer was powered up. Sighing, he clicked the internet icon on the screen and searched her name. The website Nishiki had shown them pulled up first, and he browsed through until he found her profile. Popping another eye into his mouth, he lazily scrolled through the basic info, like height, weight, and age. When he got to the history section, a small smile spread across his lips, and he stretched his arms above his head, then closed the laptop. That could wait until he was back at one hundred percent. Now was time for sleep.

Walking over to the bed, he allowed himself one wide yawn as he picked up the sunglasses and placed them on a side table, his jaw popping as he did so. Slumping onto the bed without changing into nightclothes, he tugged the covers up and folded his arms under his head. One last smile cracked onto his face before he closed his eyes.

This was really going to be an interesting endeavor.

* * *

I unlodged my heel from a ghoul's throat, wiping the blood on the grass. The others had also finished up their battles and were cleaning their weapons. Seeing me awkwardly wiping my shoes on the ground, Audric chuckled and said in Russian, "I'll never understand why you turned your _shoes_ into weapons."

I smiled, a hint of sadistic intent hiding in it, "They're easier to hide than a sword, that's why." My gaze turned to the fallen ghoul, and I kicked his head to check for any signs of life, "No one ever expects it. And I prefer to use martial arts anyway." I inhaled deeply, greatly enjoying the scents of the normally busy port.

"That's because you're just unpredictable," Niilo glowered at me as he stowed his daggers away on his belt. There was a splatter of blood across his left cheekbone, and it had gotten there when I kicked through the ghoul's throat.

Damyan rolled his eyes, much to my amusement, and handed him a wet wipe. "You don't get to be one of the best by being predictable. That's how you get killed."

"Is she really? One of the best, I mean?" asked Lauri, staring at me in admiration. His icy blue eyes were rather startling surrounded by dark lashes. I smiled and winked at him, and he quickly glanced away, blushing a brilliant red. I barely held back my snort of laughter at the effect I had on him, but Niilo's glare stopped me.

"And she's worked hard to get to that position. Never forget that," Audric said, clearly meaning for that to be the end of the conversation.

I rolled my eyes at their silly argument, then jumped when my phone beeped, signalling a text message. The others all turned to glare at me, and I smiled sheepishly at them. "I thought I told you to turn that on silent?" Damyan said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Uh... Ha ha, I uh... I thought I had. Oops?" I backed away a few feet as I turned my phone's volume off and opened my messages. My eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar number, then I laughed at the message itself.

 _Hey, Zo-chan! It's Itori, we should go get coffee sometime! Call me whenever, 'kay?_

I laughed again at the older woman's seemingly boundless energy, but my good mood was cut short as I was knocked forward. The scent of a ghoul reached my nose, and my body froze as it bit into my shoulder. The pain was blinding, and I heard a scream from far off, like I was underwater. It was later, when I was back home, that Damyan told me I had been the one screaming.

Back in the present, I also heard two men calling my name, and the ghoul was thrown off my back, and someone picked me up bridal style. I looked up, slightly delirious, and that someone turned out to be Niilo. He carried me to the car, where Lauri held open the right hand side back door. Niilo placed me down on the middle seat, buckling the belt across my lap and patting my hair as he slid in and buckled his own seat belt. I twitched uncontrollably as the saliva hissed as it mixed with my blood.

I heard the trunk door slam, and Lauri opened the other door, handing Niilo a first aid kit and sitting down. "I heard ghoul saliva was poisonous to us, but I've never seen a reaction this bad."

Niilo opened the kit, pulling out a roll of bandages and a small brown bottle. "She's always been more sensitive to it. Hold her down, please," he instructed, and Lauri held me by the arms to the seat, and I was too tired to resist. Until Niilo trickled the Hydrogen peroxide into my wound, that is. I shrieked and bucked away from Niilo, but Lauri leaned his greater weight into me and held me down again. I panted from the exertion and pain, tears leaking from my eyes as Niilo cut my shredded shirt sleeve away and wrapped my shoulder in cream bandages.

"You'll feel that in the morning, but you should be able to sleep the venom off." I groaned at his words, but stopped as he smoothed my sweaty hair back. I leaned into his hand, and could swear I heard a soft chuckle from him. We all glanced up as the driver's and passenger's doors were opened.

"Let's get out of here," Damyan said as he got behind the wheel, and I nodded tiredly.

"Home!" I agreed, a small smile pulling my lips up. Damyan laughed at my antics, and pulled the car into drive, maneuvering the machine onto the freeway and away from the kill site on the docks.

"By the way, I think you might want this," Audric said, handing a phone to Niilo over the back of the seat. My phone, I guessed by the pink case. I guessed correctly, since Niilo slipped it into my slacks pocket. I smiled again, leaning my head against Niilo as Audric turned the stereo on, switching to a swing CD. He turned the volume down quite a bit, and the sounds of peppy jazz soon lulled me to sleep.

I woke the next day in my own flat, in the loft where I hid my bed. I kicked the covers off, wincing as that pulled on my shoulder injury. Standing and stretching my good arm, I unplugged my phone from its charger, groaning at the number of messages Itori and someone else had sent me. Opening the unfamiliar number's message first, my eyes narrowed.

 _I apologize if I woke you up, but Itori has been blowing up my phone for the past hour. This is Uta, by the way. Please call her as soon as you can._

Sighing in exasperation, I saved his number as well as Itori's, then flipped through her rapidly more panicked texts. Rolling my eyes, I decided to do just what Uta had suggested, and clicked on the phone icon at the top of my screen, and held the device to my ear as it started ringing.

* * *

Itori paced back and forth behind Uta's work desk in the Studio, her steps clicking on the tile. Uta tried to drown her out by turning up the volume on his radio, but she just got closer to yell in his ear.

"What if she got killed! Maybe that's why she's not answering, right?"

Uta sighed in annoyance, saying, "As valid as your point is, I've seen that woman fight, and she can handle herself."

Itori pouted and opened her mouth to argue her side when her phone, sitting on the measuring seat, started ringing some catchy yet twisted American pop song. She rushed over to it, squealing when she saw the number and name on the screen . "It's her~!" she yelled, answering the phone and putting it on speaker. "Hey Zo-chan! I was getting worried about you. U-chan and I thought you died or something!" Her laugh was cut off by Zoya's response.

" _I nearly did,_ " she said simply, and Uta's hands stilled.

He placed the mask he was working on down, motioning Itori over to him. Once she was next to him, he asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

 _"The mission last night took a bad turn, and I got bitten. Ghoul saliva is poisonous to Fallen."_

"Are you okay now?" Itori asked, leaning one arm on Uta's shoulder.

 _"I think you should see for yourself. Can I take up your offer of coffee today?"_ Her voice sounded really hesitant as she said, _"Somewhere besides Anteiku, if possible."_

"Sure, why not," Uta said, shrugging Itori off and turning off his radio. "There's a shop not far from my place we can go to. There's also a park across the street we can talk in without worrying about anyone hearing us."

 _"That sounds good. Send the address and I'll be there in a few."_

"Alright, we'll see you then. I assume you're driving?" Uta was trying to remember the address while he tapped a finger against the tabletop.

 _"Should be. I'll be driving a black Audi if I am."_

"Alright! See you then~!" Itori sang as she hung up, and Zoya's goodbye was cut off.

"That was rude, Itori," Uta said, turning on his stool and standing, pulling on his sweater and sunglasses. "What is she going to think of us?" As he flipped the sign on the door to 'Closed', he began tapping out the address into a text, sending it to Zoya. He got a message back pretty quickly.

 _Thank you~! I'll be there in about twenty minutes!_

"Come on, Itori, we need to get walking," he said as he held the door open, and she dashed out after grabbing her purse. The walk through the city was quiet, and Uta was glad when they walked into the shop. Like Anteiku, it was owned by a ghoul, one they had known well when Uta had still been the peacemaker of the fourth ward. The man smiled politely when they walked in, already getting to work on their regular order of two black coffees.

The shop wasn't very busy at this early hour, but those who were there were human. As were several of the employees. Uta rolled his neck to release some built up tension from leaning over his desk for a few hours while Itori babbled, then turned his attention to the car that had pulled up. Four interlocked rings were on the front, and he stood to meet Zoya as she opened the door. She was clearly favoring her left arm, and Uta held out a hand for her bag.

"Thanks. I really appreciate that," she said as she handed him the messenger bag and slowly pulled herself out of the car, locking the door and closing it by bumping it with her butt. Uta couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. For once she was wearing fairly normal clothes, dark wash jeans with a white boho style top and combat boots, with large black hoops and several studs in her ears. Things that normally didn't go together, but she obviously didn't care.

"Eh, not a problem. How's your arm?" he asked as he held open the cafe door.

She smiled warmly and stepped into the cozy space, striding to the counter where Itori was holding two paper cups. "It's sore, but it'll heal."

He tipped his head to the side at her brushing off his concern. Not long ago she was saying she almost died, and now she was saying it would just _heal?_ She certainly was an odd one.

"You're here, Zo-chan!" Itori smiled, handing Uta one of the cups and hugging Zoya with her free arm around the waist. "Order whatever, I'll pay!"

Zoya bit her lip, tilting her head to the side for a moment, "Are you sure?" Itori nodded at the other redhead, and Zoya smiled faintly, "Then a chai latte?"

"Sure thing, miss." The owner and main barista nodded and set to work on the drink, not even giving her a second glance. They stayed near the counter until Zoya held her own steaming cup and Itori handed the man the correct change. He waved as they left, humming in thought. That girl had smelled odd, but she was with Uta-san, so she couldn't be too dangerous, right?

Once the trio was seated in the otherwise empty park on a bench, Itori asked, "So what really happened last night?" She had angled herself to face Zoya, who was once again in between Itori and Uta.

Zoya sipped her drink before replying, "While we were out last night, we thought we'd gotten all of them. Apparently one was hiding, and after I got distracted by your first text, it slammed me down and bit my shoulder."

Itori looked horrified, "So it's my fault?" she asked, guilt mixing with her worried tone.

"Oh, no no no!" Zoya said, waving her hand that wasn't holding her drink with wide eyes, then wincing when that pulled at her wound. "Sorry, that sounded bad. I stepped away from the others to answer your text, and that's when he attacked. It was my own fault for being reckless, I swear."

"I'm sure it was more than that," Uta said. "If the ghoul just wanted to kill you, he would have done so. He wanted a meal, Zoya-chan."

Zoya's lip curled at the nickname, "Please drop the honorifics. They make me feel weird."

Both ghouls shrugged, seeing no reason to deny her request. "Okay, then don't use them with us," Itori said, "but you may have a harder time getting Ren-chan to not use them."

Zoya mouthed _Ren-chan?_ then asked, "Oh, you mean Yomo-san?"

"Yep, that's him. Sounds like it'll be hard to get you to drop them with him as well." Uta said, finally sipping his coffee. Not nearly as good as Anteiku, but still good.

Zoya giggled behind her hand, a wide smile on her face. "Probably. He just seems so serious all the time!"

"I know! I could count the number of times I've seen him smile on one hand!" said Itori, laughing as well.

One side of Zoya's mouth quirked into a smile, then dropped when she checked the chunky watch on her right wrist. "I should get going, I have work to do."

"What? You're working even though you're hurt?" Itori demanded, expression sour.

"School work, yes." Zoya sighed as she stood, holding out a hand for her bag which Uta still had. He handed it over without argument, and she waved as she jogged down the path to her car.

"She's a really interesting girl." Itori said, her earlier worry melting away. "Don't you think so, U-chan?"

Uta leaned back with a short chuckle, "That she is. We'll just have to watch her."

* * *

 **And this chapter is finally done! This one ended up a bit longer than normal, but that's a good thing to me. Please leave a review!  
**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, nor do I claim to own Tokyo Ghoul or its characters. I only own my OCs and the plot.**


	4. Listen to the Rain

_**...Chapter Four: Listen to the Rain...**_

I breathed a sigh of relief once I reached the car, the familiar smell of Damyan's cologne calming my nerves. I had been sure the barista had been about to comment on my strange scent, since my employers had just started up a branch in Japan. The Sanctuarium Angelorum had agents all over the world, but had left Japan alone for quite some time because of the CCG. However, along with the Binge Eater and Gourmet, a new ghoul known as Eye-patch had been causing waves. It was my team's mission to make sure these ghouls weren't going to cause further trouble, and exterminate them if needed.

Pushing the thought aside, I shook my head and rolled my eyes, starting up the car and pulling out to the freeway. It took longer to get home than it had to get there due to traffic, but I drowned out the sounds of other cars by turning up the stereo. The familiar beat of Adam Lambert's _Voodoo_ filled the car, and I couldn't help but sing along. At the 'hunter and prey' line, I giggled and pulled off the freeway to a side road.

From there, it was fairly quick to get home in the 19th ward, and the compound at the edge of the marina made me smile. I buzzed in at the gate, slowly making my way to the parking lot of the sprawling complex. Once I was parked and the keys were out of the ignition, I grabbed my bag off the passenger seat, and the music was cut off when I opened my door. I checked my phone as I stepped out of the vehicle, and finding no new messages, started a slow jog through the SA complex. The place was like a small town by itself, with training facilities, administrative buildings, and housing. It was also still pretty empty, being new and all.

I stopped under a tree halfway to my flat, winded already. _The venom must still be affecting me,_ I thought, placing my hands on my knees. Once my breathing was back to normal, I started jogging again, this time faster because I wanted to be back in my home.

By the time I got to my two-story flat, I was pretty confused as to why I hadn't run into anyone else. Opening the door and stepping into the sunny space, I figured out why. What seemed like my entire team, fourteen people in all, myself included, was crowded into my house, sprawled across every open seat, playing video games on my TV and desktop, snaking on everything in the fridge, and being general nuisances.

Getting any school work done was going to be a long shot.

"Alright! Pack up and _get out!_ " I shouted over the din, and every pair of eyes turned to me in confusion.

"Zoya? When did you get back?" asked Amber, a pretty little blonde, fresh from college in America.

"Just a few minutes ago." I placed a hand on my hip, glaring at the lot of them, "And I should be asking you what you're doing in my house. Don't you all have work to do?"

"Nope!" said Ezra, a shorter Canadian man with light blue dyed hair, "We all finished our mission reports yesterday. It's only you who has school, remember?"

I groaned, tapping my forehead against the door frame before stepping into the flat and shutting the glass door behind me. "Do I ever. Anyone know music theory?"

"Nope!" Ezra said again, popping the p.

Aza, a lovely Kenyan woman who stood at 5'9", walked over and patted my shoulder, "I'm sure you'll figure it out, you always do."

Jess, a tall and thin British man with short red hair who was taking up one of my couches, smiled cheekily at me as he popped another of my favorite chips into his mouth. I was _so_ tempted to flip him off, but Damyan stopped me when he said, "Look, I know we're all fairly new to this 'working together' thing, but we do need to get along."

"Agreed," said Dmitri, standing and walking over to the door, smiling kindly at me as he walked out. Audric also left, smacking Jess on the back of his head as he did so. That left me with ten annoyances, and Damyan.

Eliade and Nadine, who had been raiding the fridge when I got back, sheepishly put all the food back in its place and jogged out the now open front door. Make that eight.

"We should be going as well, right, Lauri?" Niilo asked rhetorically, grabbing Jess's collar as he got off the loveseat. Lauri chuckled but followed the struggling pair past me. Five to go.

Aza waved Amber over to her, then hugged me quickly. The two waved as they walked out, Amber calling back, "Just text me if you need help with math, 'kay?" Three more, and I was free.

Liza, the other American of our group, smiled without saying a word, linked arms with Kaya, a slim South African beauty, and left as well. Ezra was close behind them.

Once they were gone, I dropped my bag next to the door, walked over to the couch Jess had occupied, and flopped over the arm rest, wincing as I landed on my bad shoulder. "Ow," I mumbled, and Damyan chuckled.

"That was your own fault," he said, sitting on the loveseat next to me. "Get up so I can redress that thing." Finding no reason to argue with him, I sat up and moved to the edge of the couch, turning to face away from him as he popped open a first aid kit. I tugged my left sleeve off my shoulder, flinching as he brushed my hair out of the way. "Sorry, didn't mean to do that."

I shrugged using my right shoulder only, forcing a smile on my face even though he couldn't see it, "It's fine. It's about time I got over that, anyway."

I flinched again when his arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into a hug, giving me a full whiff of his cologne. "No it's not. That's nothing to just 'get over'. Someone really hurt you, someone who you should have been able to trust. There's nothing to be sorry for, just tell me if it gets too bad, okay?"

I turned around in his arms to hug him back, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck, "The panic attacks are pretty much gone, so you don't have to worry. Really, I'll be fine."

He pulled away, smiling warmly at me, and I smiled back. This time, it wasn't forced.

* * *

On Monday, Kaneki ran through the late April rain, mentally kicking himself for a lack of better planning. The weather report had called for rain, but he had ignored it due to the clear skies when he left his apartment for school. The clouds that roiled in soon after he boarded the train for work made him groan in frustration. He ended up sprinting through the downpour with his hands over his head in an effort to keep his hair from being drenched.

Of course, with his luck, it was in vain. Streams of water ran from his hair as he stepped into Anteiku, and he was forced back a few steps when someone threw a towel at his face. Pulling the towel off, he saw Touka turn around and start to wipe down a table like nothing happened as Koma and Irimi shook their heads at her and Nishiki snorted with laughter. The few customers who were there stared back and forth at the two in shock, one holding her coffee cup to her chest while she searched for words.

"Uh... Well, I, uh... Should be going. Thank you for the coffee, Irimi-san," the female customer said, placing the cup down and standing with a small bow to the servers. She tucked her hair behind her ears and hurried out of the shop, leaving Irimi glaring at Touka, who still looked disinterested.

"Ignore them," said Koma, and Kaneki jumped. When he gotten behind him? "Just go get changed for work; we're gonna get slammed today."

Nodding, Kaneki went to the back and pulled on his uniform, drying his hair as he did so. By the time he was back in the shop, it was packed, just as Koma predicted.

"How did you know?" Kaneki asked Koma as he stepped behind the counter.

"It's a little after five, so a lot of people are getting off work and school, and it's raining." Koma said nothing more as he placed four cups of fresh coffee on a tray and brought them out to a table.

Irimi brought over an empty tray as Koma left, "Four lattes and one cappuccino for table three."

"Coming right up!" As he set to work, he asked, "Why does the rain affect the amount of people in the shop?"

"Oh, that. Did Koma say something?" Irimi asked, and Kaneki nodded, "The colder it is, the more people want a warm drink, you know?"

"Ah, okay," Kaneki nodded in understanding, loading the fresh coffees onto the tray and smiling as Irimi left for the table.

They truly were slammed for the rest of the day, and Kaneki sighed as closing time neared. The last group of customers left with forty five minutes left, and after no one walked in after another fifteen, Koma asked, "How about we close up early today?"

"Thank you!" said Nishiki, already moving to turn off the sign outside, grabbing an umbrella as the door opened, and in stepped Damyan.

"Oh. Sorry, if you're closing early, we can go somewhere else."

Irimi smiled at him, beckoning him in, much to Nishiki's annoyance. "Don't worry about it, come on in. There's technically half an hour before closing, we were just not getting any more customers."

"Well..." Damyan hesitated in the door for another moment, than closed his umbrella and stepped in. "If you're sure. Zoya is parking the car, so I'll order for her. I'll have a black coffee, and she'd like a hazelnut latte."

"No problem, that'll be just a few minutes!" Koma smiled and set to work as Damyan sat down at the counter. "Do you mind, since there isn't anyone else here, if we ask a few more questions?"

"Not at all, ask away," Damyan shrugged and set his crossed arms on the bar.

"Well, we know you're somewhat like us ghouls, but there's one thing that stuck out to me. Can you eat normal food?" asked Koma as he set the coffees in front of Damyan.

He sipped before answering, "We can. Our RC levels aren't quite as high as a ghouls, which is why we use weapons to fight, instead of a kagune like you."

"Why haven't we heard of the Fallen until now?" asked Irimi as she started washing a tray full of cups.

This seemed to cause him some distress, and Damyan pushing his half full cup away with a grimace. "The SA only opened a branch in Japan recently, and normally we keep to ourselves when on jobs. Zoya accidentally got Kaneki-kun and Uta-san involved when she met them at the club three days ago."

 _Oops,_ thought Kaneki, wincing at the words. He picked up one last cup from a table, and he turned to give it to Irimi, only to trip over Touka's foot, dropping the cup. _Double oops._

Time seemed to slow as the cup fell to the ground and Kaneki closed his eyes as he waited for the crash as it broke. Only it never came. Kaneki opened his eyes to see everyone staring in bewilderment at the door, and he turned to see Zoya standing there, the cup he had been sure was done for hooked on her finger.

"I think you dropped this?" she asked, a serene smile on her face.

* * *

 _Damn, shouldn't have done that, Zo,_ I thought as I handed the cup to a startled Irimi, who took it with her mouth slightly open.

"Uh, thank you," she mumbled, shaking her head and beginning to wash the cup. I sat down in front of her and next to my brother, where a steaming cup of coffee sat waiting. I sipped the warm drink as the room slowly came back to life.

"Wh-what was that?!" shouted Nishiki, making me roll my eyes.

"Telekinesis." I stated, acting like I wasn't giving him any mind. I didn't know why right then, but the guy just grated on my nerves.

"And _how_ can you use telekinesis?" he asked, his steps drawing nearer.

I set my cup down, staring at the far wall in annoyance before turning in my seat. "Why do you have a kagune? Why are you able to kick someone through a brick wall?"

He looked at me like I was the stupidest person he'd ever met, "We're ghouls, that's why. Duh."

"No." I crossed my legs and placed my hands on my knees, staring him down. " _Evolution._ That's why. We all evolved from humans in different ways. Your abilities manifest in your kagune and superhuman strength and senses. The Fallen have greater control over their minds, and can bend elements and even others to their will because of _evolution._ " I hopped off my stool, smiling stiffly and professionally at Koma.

"I apologize for taking up your time. We'll take our leave now." I said, holding my hand out for my umbrella, which Damyan held. He handed it to me and stood as well, placing a few bills on the counter as I opened the cafe door. I opened the umbrella as he waved to the servers of Anteiku, and Touka followed us out to switch off the sign. Holding the umbrella high, I let Damyan duck under it as we started towards our car. We'd been walking for a few minutes when Damyan took the umbrella.

"Jeez, how far out did you park?" he asked, ruffling my hair with his free hand.

I swatted him away with a smile, "Not that much farther. This place was a bit busier when we first got here, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," he mumbled, elbowing me so I was in the rain for a second.

"H-hey!" I shouted, pushing him back, which ended with me getting wet again, as he laughed.

"Sorry, Zo. Oh, there's the car!" He sped up a bit, making me walk twice as fast because of my shorter legs. By the time we got to the car, my flats were soaked, and I slipped them off with a wrinkle of my nose. Damyan laughed again, then tilted his head to the side as my phone rang with a new text. "Who's that?"

Shrugging, I pulled the electronic out of my back pocket, my eyes widening at the name on the screen. "It's Uta. He got a call from Koma-san after we left and wants to talk."

"Really? Well, where is he?" Damyan put the keys in the ignition, starting up the engine and the heat, then leaned over to read my texts.

"Hey, that's private!" I said as I held my phone out of sight. "He's in the fourth ward, at another coffee shop. The address is already in the GPS," I said as I started searching for it. "Ha! That's it!" I said, pointing at the screen. Seeing it, Damyan sighed in exasperation.

"We really are going everywhere tonight, huh?" Rolling his eyes, he pulled the car into drive and started in the direction we needed. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he chuckled. "I love you, but I hate you."

I gasped in mock surprise, "Who, me?" He chuckled, but kept driving.

* * *

 **Thank you once again for reading~! Please drop me a message if someone is OOC, okay? Also, I should have said this in the first chapter, but this is an AU where Kaneki goes back to Anteiku after the Aogiri raid. Please leave me a review~!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, nor do I claim to own Tokyo Ghoul or its characters.  
**


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